


Contagious Lack of Chill

by benjji2795



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Dex never had any chill to begin with, I know what the title says, M/M, Nursey loses his chill, There was nothing for him to catch lol, but let's be real, canon-typical alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 15:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6476395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjji2795/pseuds/benjji2795
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“Seriously Poindexter, just chill out man,” Nursey replies, so frustratingly coolly and calmly.  “Your assault on my chill is getting you nowhere so just like, give it up bro.”</em>
</p>
<p><em>“No dude, I’m not going to,” Dex replies, sitting up straight.  He’s not going to because William J. Poindexter does not give up.  Not ever, and </em>especially<em> not when Derek Nurse is involved.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Contagious Lack of Chill

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, so this was an awesomely fun fic to write, and I have [bahoreal](http://bahoreal.tumblr.com) to thank for that! They really wanted to do an art/fic collab with me which I thought was so cool and I jumped at the chance to do it! I think both the fic and the art turned out amazing, and I'm so happy that we can share this with y'all! Hope you enjoy it! :)
> 
> P.S. links to the art will be in the text after their corresponding sections of the fic :)

“There must be something out there that will make you unchill!” Dex exclaims exasperatedly as they walk into the Haus.  He flops down on the couch with a deep sigh, and Nursey sits down next to him.  He glares at the other boy in annoyance.  He’s been trying all afternoon to find something that will make Nursey lose his goddamn chill, and so far he’s been failing miserably.

 

“Seriously Poindexter, just chill out man,” Nursey replies, so frustratingly coolly and calmly.  “Your assault on my chill is getting you no where so just like, give it up bro.”

 

“No dude, I’m not going to,” Dex replies, sitting up straight.  He’s not going to because William J. Poindexter does not give up.  Not ever, and _especially_ not when Derek Nurse is involved.

 

Unfortunately, he’s almost out of ideas, out of things he can bring up that might make Nursey lose his chill.  He’s tried money, politics, Star Wars vs. Star Trek (seriously, some people are very passionately for one and against the other), and he’s gotten nothing from Nursey.  Not a furrowed brow, not a small downturn of the corner of his mouth, not pursed lips.  Absolutely nothing.

 

“What if I started talking about sex?” Dex blurts out, because that’s pretty much all he has left.  He immediately regrets it though as he feels his face turn approximately five shades darker than it was a few seconds ago.

 

“Dude, like sex have been a taboo subject in your house, but my moms had no problem talking about it, so I’m chill talking about that if you are.  But something tells me you’re really not,” Nursey says with a maddening smirk on his face.

 

Dex groans, slumping back against the cushions.  “Are you fucking kidding me?  How can nothing bother you, at least a little bit?!”

 

“I dunno man, and I honestly don’t give a shit either,” Nursey shrugs, and boy would Dex just love to kiss that shit-eating grin off his face.  Wait, now there’s an idea!

 

“What if I kissed you?” Dex questions, resisting the urge to face palm the second the words leave his mouth.  He’s such an idiot—just because it’s _an_ idea doesn’t mean it’s a _good_ one.

 

“Hey man, if you want to, be my guest,” Nursey replies nonchalantly.  His tone is still even and he appears to be unperturbed, save for the slight widening of his eyes.

 

_Bingo_ , Dex thinks.  He’s found it: the one thing that will make Derek Nurse lose his pervasive chill.

 

So against his better judgment, Dex leans over and presses his lips to Nursey’s.  Nursey kisses back, but it’s slow, lazy and he still seems completely unfazed by the current turn of events, and that’s not good enough for Dex.  Nursey appears to still be totally in control, still wholly too chill, so Dex has to up the ante.

 

Dex quickly nips at Nursey’s lower lip, and Nursey gasps in surprise.  Dex uses the opportunity to slide his tongue into Nursey’s mouth.  Nursey makes a startled noise; it’s not a moan, but it’s—it’s definitely a whimper, and Dex would be satisfied with that if he wasn’t suddenly getting caught up in his own desire, in the need to explore more of Nursey’s mouth, to find more of Nursey’s body to run his hands over.

 

It’s only when Dex starts to climb onto Nursey’s lap that he finally starts to come to his senses and realizes what it is he’s doing.  He hastily breaks away from Nursey, sending himself toppling backward onto the floor.

 

[*ART*](http://bahoreal.tumblr.com/post/142367357466/nursey-makes-a-startled-noise-its-not-a-moan)

 

“Uhh,” Nursey utters as Dex scrambles to his feet.  There’s a blush high on the other boy’s cheeks, and a shocked, nearly vacant expression on his face.

 

Dex immediately bolts from the room because, _shit_ , he just kissed his crush and the only response he had was to say “uhh” while staring blankly.  That— _fuck_ , that likely wasn’t a good thing at all.

 

Dex enters the kitchen after a few long strides, finding Bitty there, laying out the ingredients to make a—it looks like a maple-crusted apple pie.  Dex is thankful that Bitty hasn’t started yet because a) he needs to get out of the Haus, and b) he needs Bitty to come with him so he can talk about what the fuck he just did.

 

_“I just kissed Nursey,”_ Dex says in a hoarse, panicked whisper.  His chest is tight, and he’s out of breath, which that has nothing to do with the short jog from the living room to the kitchen.

 

“You—you what?” Bitty asks, gaping at him, his brown eyes the size of saucers.

 

“I just—” Dex starts again before Bitty cuts him off.

 

“You don’t have to repeat it, I just—I needed a second to process it,” Bitty says, his words slow and measured as he puts down the empty bowl he’s holding.  It clatters on the counter with a metallic clink, one that’s almost deafening in the relative silence of the Haus.

 

“God Bitty, I’m so _stupid_ ,” Dex laments through gritted teeth.  Dex checks over his shoulder, and Nursey is still sitting on the couch.  He hasn’t moved an inch since Dex left the room.

 

“Calm down sweetheart,” Bitty says putting a hand on his arm.  “Let’s go get some froyo and we can talk, alright?”

 

Dex nods minutely, letting Bitty guide him towards the front door and out into the warm spring air.

 

It was a kind of tradition for them, going for froyo when they needed to talk, and it started back at the beginning of Dex’s sophomore year.

 

*-*-*-*-*

 

“H-hey Bitty,” Dex mumbles, wringing his hands as he shuffles into the kitchen of the Haus.  His heart is beating out of his chest; he’s never actually done this before, and terrified doesn’t even _begin_ to describe how he’s feeling right now.

 

“Oh Dex!” Bitty says, jumping slightly, like he’s surprised that Dex is there; though to be fair, Bitty tends to jump at almost everything.  “I wasn’t expectin’ uh—I thought you had class.”

 

“I—I do but I just—I needed to talk to you—when I knew you’d be here alone and—this was the only time,” Dex murmurs.  He’s so nervous he’s at the point that he has to remind himself to breathe.

 

“Oh my,” Bitty mutters to himself.  “Let me get you a slice of pie sweetheart, and then we can talk, okay?”

 

Dex nods robotically, letting Bitty push him into a chair at the table.  There’s a plate shoved in front of him, and Dex, by rote, begins to eat the pie while Bitty sits down at the table across from him, concern writ all over his face.

 

He watches until Dex has finished the pie, waiting until then to speak up.  “Now sweetheart, tell me, what’s goin’ on?”

 

Dex’s stomach starts to churn as he thinks over the words he has to say, and he’s beginning to regret actually having eaten the slice of blueberry pie.

 

“There’s uh—well, something I want to tell you but I—I’ve never told anyone this before and I don’t—I don’t know if I’ll be able to say it but I’ll—I’ll try,” Dex says, his voice barely above a whisper.

 

“Sweetheart, just take all the time you need,” Bitty says, smiling sympathetically as he leans in slightly.  “Just know there ain’t gonna be any judgment here, not matter what it is you have to say.”

 

“I uh—”

 

Dex pauses and takes a deep, shuddery breath.  He looks down at his hands, folded in his lap.  If he looks Bitty in the eye, he doesn’t think he’ll get this out.

 

“I’m gay,” he says finally, after a long few minutes.

 

“Thank you for trusting me with this moment,” Bitty says, smiling, and Dex feels like a huge weight falls off his shoulders in that moment.

 

*-*-*-*-*

 

From that moment on, Bitty became Dex’s go-to confidant.  They were, as Bitty coined it, “bitch buddies,” though bitching was only a small part of what they did.  More than anything, they just talked about stuff.  From Dex’s super-secret crush on Nursey, to Bitty’s relationship with Jack, and everything in between (like, for example, they talked at length one day about the super hot guy on the swim team who looked like Chris Evans).

 

That’s why now, when Dex is facing his biggest gay crisis—like ever—he’s talking to Bitty, asking for—no, _begging_ for advice.

 

“Why?” Bitty asks before they’ve even sat down with their cups of froyo.  Bitty’s has a bunch of chocolate on top with a few peaches tossed in for color, while Dex simply has strawberries and crumbled Oreos on his.

 

“I don’t know,” Dex mumbles as he slinks into a chair.  He proceeds to drag his spoon back and forth through the frozen yogurt in his cup, rather than eat any of it.

 

Bitty responds by raising an eyebrow at him and okay, fine, he’s lying; he knows exactly why he did it.

 

“I just wanted to make him lose his chill,” Dex says quietly, blowing out a slow breath.

 

“That—that don’t seem like it was a very smart thing to do,” Bitty sighs before shoving a spoonful of super chocolaty froyo in his mouth (seriously, he put like, M&M’s, mini chocolate chips, Oreos, hot fudge, _and_ chocolate syrup on top).

 

“Of course, you think I don’t know that?” Dex grumbles.  His froyo is likely going to stay untouched, because he just doesn’t have the appetite for it right now.  “I just—I got carried away I guess.  It’s—if I had just kissed him, I’d be fine but I—I kept pushing and wanting more, and that’s how I ended up shoving my tongue down his throat as I was climbing onto his lap.  I just lost control and went too far, not like that’s really a surprise.”

 

“You were on his lap?” Bitty inquires incredulously, his brow knotting up in intense concentration, though whether that’s on Dex’s predicament, or his froyo, Dex has no idea.

 

“Well it was only for a second,” Dex frowns as he recalls the scene in his mind.  “But then I—I realized what I was doing and like, jerked away and fell onto the floor.”

 

Bitty glances up suddenly.  “Wait, you fell, or you were pushed?”

 

“I—” Dex pauses.  Did he fall, or did Nursey push him?  Dex—he can’t actually remember; he was a little too busy freaking out over that fact that he was just kissing Nursey to pay attention to a detail like that.  “I’m not sure.”

 

There’s growing concern on Bitty’s face with each passing second.  “Well—what did he say after?”

 

“Just ‘uhh’, like he’s not a fucking English major,” Dex answers, frowning.

 

“I—well, I don’t know much about the situation cause you know I wasn’t there to see it but—if I’m bein’ honest, it ain’t lookin’ too good from where I’m sittin’,” Bitty grimaces before taking another bite of froyo.

 

“I know that,” Dex groans.  “That’s why I need your help!”

 

Bitty shakes his head.  “I ain’t got the slightest clue of what to do sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

 

“So…I guess that means I have to quit the team, drop out of college, and become a hermit so I never have to face Nursey again,” Dex sighs, dropping his head into his hands.

 

“Oh don’t be silly,” Bitty giggles, which is annoying, because Dex really wasn’t joking.  “I’m sure y’all will work it out.”

 

“I’ll finally have to grow my hair out, but at least no will be there to see it,” Dex continues, laughing hysterically.

 

“Oh hush and stop bein’ so dramatic,” Bitty replies, rolling his eyes.  “You’re bein’ worse than my cousin Miranda, and that’s sayin’ somethin’!”

 

Dex shuts up, since it appears he’s not getting any more sympathy from Bitty, but he has no intention of actually being any less dramatic about the situation.

[*ART*](http://bahoreal.tumblr.com/post/142367569356/from-the-writingart-collab-i-did-with-benjji2795)

* * *

 

Since Bitty had given him exactly zero pieces of advice on how to deal with the situation, Dex decides to handle it by—well, by not dealing with it.  The only time he _has_ to see Nursey is at practice, and he can deal with that by keeping any conversations they have to have strictly about hockey.  Outside of practice, Dex knows Nursey’s schedule like the back of his hand, and can therefore skillfully avoid him.

 

And he does for nearly a week, and it also turns out to be one of the most stressful weeks in recent memory for Dex.  He doesn’t know when Nursey became a constant, calming presence in his every day, but he did.  A week without that annoying hipster boy constantly hanging around him is like spending a week without one of his limbs and sets Dex on edge; he didn’t realize just how much Nursey’s chill attitude affected him.

 

But Nursey never makes any kind of effort to seek him out.  He lets Dex avoid him without ever sending a single text or showing up at Dex’s room.  _So_ , Dex thinks one night while he’s half-asleep in his CS textbook, _it’s not like Nursey wants anything to do with him now_.

 

And the worst part is, Dex doesn’t have anyone to blame for this but himself.  There was nothing that said he had to make Nursey lose his chill.  He could have let it go, but he was a stubborn dumbass (not that that’s news) that not only had to find a way to make Nursey lose his chill, but actually do it as well.

 

He certainly succeeded, because if practices and one other event that had taken place with Nursey during the week were any indication, Nursey has not been the least bit chill since Dex kissed him.  Every time they make eye contact in practice, Nursey blushes, and every time their bodies touch when they have to skate past each other, he can see Nursey shiver as he retreats away from the contact.

 

They had ended up at the Haus at the same time, though Dex had tried his hardest to get out of it.  Ransom and Holster had told him that under no circumstances was he to skip out; it was “mandatory team bonding.”  But the entire hockey team is there, so all Dex has to do is to place himself on the opposite side of the living room from Nursey, and he’ll be set to continue ignoring the other boy.

 

Except then he has to exit the living room to use the bathroom, and Nursey and a few others block the way.  There’s just enough space in between Nursey and Wicks for Dex to slip through.  He takes a deep breath and then approaches, mumbling “excuse me” as he pushes through.

 

Just as Dex is squeezing past, Wicks steps backward and pushes him and Nursey together so their bodies are flush.  Dex holds back a sigh (because of course this would happen), and Nursey inhales sharply, turning bright red.  Dex pushes back on Wicks, who mutters an apology and lets Dex through.  Dex pretends that he didn’t notice Nursey’s reaction, as he’s too concerned with the situation developing in his pants.

 

When he comes back out, Nursey is gone.

 

But none of that necessarily means anything that Dex would want it to mean.  If it did, then why would Nursey let Dex get away with avoiding him?  He doesn’t _need_ Nursey to be his friend, to hang around him.  Really, he’s totally fine.

* * *

 

They lose their first hockey game after The Incident rather spectacularly, to the tune of a 5-2 final score.  He and Nursey were a complete and utter disaster on the ice.  They ended up getting benched for the rest of the game halfway through the second period, but not before they were mostly responsible for giving up three goals.

 

Neither of them says a word to each other as they’re forced to sit next to each other and stew on the bench.

 

The team holds a kegster at the Haus after the game, because there’s always one, whether they win or lose.  Dex goes, even though he knows that Nursey is going as well, because good God does he need some alcohol.  He wants to drown out his emotions, because feels like shit because he played so badly, and also because he knows this means that things between him and Nursey are worse than he could’ve imagined.

 

Around his third beer, Bitty suddenly appears at his side.  He peers up at Dex, examining him with his warm brown eyes as he puts a hand on Dex’s arm.

 

“Dex, sweetheart, don’t you think you should be slowin’ down a little?” Bitty questions.

 

Normally, Dex would be appreciative of Bitty’s concern, but right now, he wants none of it.

 

“I’m fine,” Dex quips tersely, taking another large gulp of the golden liquid in his cup.  He doesn’t want concern; he wants to be left alone to get totally shit-faced.

 

“You’ve been drinkin’ a lot already,” Bitty continues, having either missed or ignored the warning in Dex’s voice.  “You sure you’re goin’ to be able to handle it?”

 

“I’ve got it under control Bitty,” Dex snaps harshly in irritation.

 

Bitty looks affronted, and then almost angry.  “Look Dex, I understand that you’re upset about the game and everythin’ goin’ on with Nursey,” Bitty says sternly.  “But I ain’t sure that this is the way to be dealin’ with it!  You might do somethin’ you’ll regret.”

 

“Leave me alone and let me deal with it how I want to,” Dex retorts, pulling Bitty’s hand off his arm.

 

“Fine,” Bitty sighs resignedly.  “That’s your choice.  It’s no skin off my nose if you say somethin’ to make things worse.”

 

He walks away, leaving Dex alone to scowl at his nearly empty cup.

 

Nearly an hour and a half later, Dex belatedly realizes that listening to Bitty might have been a better idea than snapping at him and telling him to get lost, because now he’s definitely shit-faced.  He’s lost count of how many beers, shots and cups of tub juice he’s had, but he’s going to put the number at simply “too many,” because now all he wants to do is to find Nursey (like Bitty had essentially predicted he would) and do…something.  He doesn’t know yet.

 

He stumbles into the living room to look for the other boy, and he’s startlingly easy to find.

 

Nursey is slumped up against a wall by himself, staring mournfully into a red Solo cup in his hand.  Dex still has no idea what he’s going to say or do, but he staggers over to him anyway.

 

“Having fun?” he slurs, leaning up against the wall next to Nursey.

 

Nursey’s head jerks up abruptly.  “Uh, what?” he says, blushing scarlet when he makes eye contact with him.

 

_“Uh, what?”_ Dex garbles, doing a poor, drunk impression of Nursey.  It takes him all of about a half second to start laughing at himself, doubling over and losing his balance, stumbling into Nursey.

 

“Are you drunk?” Nursey asks.

 

Dex shakes his head; drunk comes woefully short of describing just how sloshed he is.  “Completely bitch-ass shit-faced,” he corrects, giggling as Nursey holds him up.

 

“Jesus Poindexter,” Nursey grunts, staggering back a step as he tries to hold up Dex’s weight.  “I know tonight’s game was rough but—”

 

“Nah, I wouldn’t do this if it was only about the game,” Dex snorts while Nursey, with considerable effort, gets him upright again.  He positions them so that Dex’s back is against the wall, and he’s standing directly in front of Dex, keeping a respectable distance between their bodies.

 

“Right, you avoid me for a week, but now that you’re drunk, you want to talk about it,” Nursey sighs, shaking his head.  “Can’t even think about kissing me while you’re sober, right?”

 

“Can’t stop thinking about it,” Dex mumbles, lifting his head so that he’s gazing right into Nursey’s bright green eyes.  “Drunk or sober.”

 

“Thinking about how to give me the ‘I’m not into guys’ speech then, hmm?” Nursey replies bitterly.  “You can just save it.”

 

Dex holds Nursey’s eye for a second, long enough to realize that he’s not joking, before he bursts into uncontrollable, hysterical laughter.  “I—wow, you actually think—oh my _God_.”

 

Dex pauses, sucking in a deep breath, intending to explain himself to Nursey, but he starts giggling again, so hard that he can’t splutter out even a few words.  Nursey looks on, clearly unimpressed.

 

“What’s so funny?” Nursey asks flatly, frowning deeply.

 

Dex gasps for air as he was guffawing too hard to breathe properly.  “I—oh God, it’s just—I couldn’t give that speech—like ever.  If anything, I’d have to do like, the opposite!”

 

Nursey blinks as he gawks at Dex blankly.  “What?”

 

“Y’know, for an English major, you’re like super-not-good-with-words like, 99% of the time,” Dex teases, taking an unsteady step forward toward Nursey.

 

“Wait, are you trying to say that you’re gay?” Nursey questions, his eyes going wider in realization.

 

“There we go, now he’s got it,” Dex grins, placing a hand on Nursey’s shoulder.

 

“Wait—s-so if you’re gay then—why did you kiss me then avoid me?  I thought you were freaked out that you kissed me when you weren’t gay but that’s obviously not the case,” Nursey asks.  He looks slightly confused, but there’s also a trace of that constant cockiness that’s starting to slide back into place.

 

Dex shrugs, glancing down at their feet.  “’Cause I wasn’t sure what to do.  I kissed you when you don’t feel the same way about me.”

 

“I thought you knew you liked me and were making fun of me,” Nursey replies, chuckling softly.

 

“I would never be that mean to you…” Dex answers, trailing off as his alcohol-slowed brain catches up with the rest of what Nursey said.  “Wait, what?!” he blurts out in shock.

 

“There we go, now he’s got it,” Nursey repeats jokingly.  He puts his hands on Dex’s cheeks and leans in, kissing Dex softly.

 

When Nursey breaks the kiss, he raises an eyebrow, his full smirk finally back in place on his face, like it should be.  “But dude, I’ve had a crush on you since like, second semester last year.  How did you not know?”

 

Dex averts his eyes, as he can’t lower his head with Nursey’s hands still on his face.  “I guess I was too busy trying to deal with my own crush,” Dex mutters.

 

Nursey barks out a laugh.  “So we’re both just super oblivious?”

 

“I guess,” Dex shrugs.

 

They stand off to the side, close to the wall, gazing out at the kegster for a few minutes.  Dex can’t stop grinning, and Nursey looks as chill as ever, until he turns back to Dex.

 

“You should probably get back to your dorm, since you can barely stand upright,” Nursey says, a corner of his mouth turning down in concern.

 

Dex realizes that he’s swaying in place, and so swallows his protest.  “You’re coming with me, right?” he asks instead.

 

“’Course I am,” Nursey smiles, shaking his head as he throws an arm around Dex’s shoulders.  As they walk out, Dex spots Bitty giving him a thumbs up from across the room, where he’s standing with Jack, the taller man’s arm around his waist.

 

When Dex wakes up the next morning, he doesn’t remember much of the night, but he knows he’s curled up around Nursey right now.  The other boy is gently playing with his hair, smiling down softly at him, and Dex feels a strange, swooping sensation in his gut.  He doesn’t remember what happened last night, but he gets the feeling that he doesn’t need to remember.  This is evidence enough of what took place.

 

Dex grins, nuzzling his head into Nursey’s shoulder.  Normally, having to be right was something Dex saw as more a curse than a blessing, but for once, he’s glad that he had to be right.  Feeling like he had to make Nursey lose his chill was probably the best thing that could’ve happened.

**Author's Note:**

> I also need to give creds to [mscomrade](http://mscomrade.tumblr.com), because he was the one who came up with the concept of “Bitch Buddies” :)


End file.
